Climbed and skied the Conundrum Couloir. It was cold and windy, so i wasn't sure if it was going to warm up or not, and since I also wanted to do Castle, I skied it when it was frozen. That choke is steep and narrow and not so much fun when it is icy!

Didn't make the summit, was my first unsuccessful attempt...gotta happen sometime right? My pontiac wasn't about to attempt going all the way, so we had an extra few miles on our hike...started so early that some clouds rolled through that looked questionable and we were off the trail. Of course once we got down it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. I'll be back.

Climbed via Castle-Conundrum saddle, after summitting Castle. Accidentally kept going across the actual summit at first, then spotted the summit register, which no one had signed in several days. A good peak for solitude even when Castle is busy!

Headed back over Castle rather than contend with the snowless dirt slope below the Castle-Conundrum saddle

The traverse was easy, the skiing was sketchy. The choke was shaded and bulletproof with slush above and below. I side slipped through the ice, but my partner ate it and tumbled 300 feet downslope. Nothing hurt but his pride and his binding.

Had a great glissade from the couloir between Castle and Conundrum.
Part of a 10 day 18 14,000 ft. summit solo climbing trip. I celebrated the sucess of the trip when I returned home with a bottle of Conundrum wine.

My friend Matt and I scrambled from the montezuma basin up a fairly solid couloir to the climbers right of the conundrum couloir. Great scramble, lots of fun, beautiful peak despite the fact that its not an official 14er. Whatever!

A nice snow climb to the saddle, but the final ridge to the summit was bare. Used snowshoes the entire time I was on snow, although crampons could've been used on the final slope to the saddle. Was able to do about 7 glissades down Montezuma Basin on stable snow. Following the creek bed was much easier and faster than trying to stay on the snow covered road. The road was impassable slightly above the first river crossing with the foot bridge. I started at 5:40 and reached the top after about 4 hours, and then headed over to Castle. Back to the car in 2.5 from the top of Castle. I started from where I camped 0.4 mi. up from where the Pearl Pass Rd. leaves the Castle Creek Rd. I would recommend an earlier start time to avoid soft snow.

Brad, Betsy, and I set out to climb Conundrum and Castle today. However, Betsy's feet were hurting and we encountered more snow high on the mountain. Thus, after an attempt to reach the Conundrum/Castle saddle, Betsy waited for us in the bowl below Conundrum and Castle, while Brad and I had a great time climbing Conundrum Couloir. We had great views.

My first real snow climb, and what fun! Never made it to Castle Peak as planned, but had a great introduction to the Elks! Weather was beautiful and clear, but later in the day it started to get annoyingly windy. Lots of skiers out today on the slope between Castle and Conundrum.

A fun snow / ice climb to the saddle between Conundrum and Castle. Had to do the last 200 feet or so to the saddle on the loose scree. Not fun! Ascended Conundrum, made the traverse to Castle, and then descended the north ridge. A nice tour.